Trek WSD Women's Ride Guide Cycling Tech Tips

Welcome to a world where the choice is yours! With Trek’s WSD line-up (WSD stands for Women’s Specific Design), you have a complete selection of bicycles, components and apparel engineered and dialed in just for you!

WSD considers your bike as a complete system, from the frame geometry and gearing, to the contact points that determine the fit and feel of every ride. It’s Trek’s approach to making the perfect fitting and riding bike right from your very first spin.

Where you see the differenceWhile every WSD bike is masterfully designed and built to provide the ultimate cycling experience, there are key design factors that are noteworthy as follows:

Bike types and anatomyRoad bikes are light, fast bicycles that are designed to fly over pavement. These sleek machines can be used for recreation, fitness, plain old fun and racing.

These rugged bikes also have flat handlebars for control and comfort and wide, knobby tires for confidence, excellent traction and puncture protection. The higher-end models may have carbon frames, but light, tough aluminum is the most common frame material.

Town bikes are designed to let you lead the two-wheeled good life. Haul, commute, get fit, represent, have fun–that's what these bikes are all about!

Look for comfortable, flat handlebars, an upright riding position, easy gearing to flatten out any hills and nice braking for safety. The most common frame materials include aluminum and steel and some town bikes even sport suspension. On these versatile hard-working bikes you can also add practical accessories like racks, fenders and lights.

The bike for youChoosing a new bike is a wonderful experience and having a bicycle made for you is something special. To find the bike that’s right for you, start by asking yourself these two questions:

Where do I plan to ride?

How will I use the bike?

Your first answer tells if you’ll be riding a road, mountain or town bicycle. Within those three categories there’s a range of WSD bikes that will be ideal. Then, the second question helps narrow down your selection to a more specific bike.

There are Trek WSD bikes designed for the elite-level racer, the enthusiast rider, the commuter and the casual rider. You'll find bikes in the middle too for multiple types of riding and budgets. So whether you’re a weekend warrior or just enjoy pedaling around the park, we’ll gladly help you find the WSD bike that's perfect for you.

Now, because it pays to be prepared, here's a little bonus adapted from Trek's WSD Ride Guide, which you can download and read in full by clicking on the screenshot of it at the bottom of the page.

How to fix a flat tireOne of the basic breakdowns you want to know how to fix is a flat tire. As long as you carry a spare tube, tire levers and a portable bicycle pump (we can help you get the right stuff) you'll be prepared should you have a flat. Here are some basic instructions to help.

Note that the photos show a rear flat tire repair because that's a bit more complicated than a front flat. The tips here are for both, though.

1. Keeping the bike right side up, lift the rear wheel, pedal by hand and shift the chain onto the smallest front and rear cogs, which makes it easiest to remove the rear wheel.

2. Open the brake quick release to allow the tire to pass through the pads freely (for linear-pull brakes, release the noodle from its holder). If you have disc brakes there's nothing you have to do to the brakes to remove the wheel. But, don't squeeze the brake lever while the wheel is out or you'll have to push the brake pads back out.

3.Now, standing on the non-chain side of the bike, open the wheel quick release. For the front wheel, once the quick release is open, hold the lever while loosening the nut on the other end (you won't need to do this for the rear wheels). When the nut is turned far enough for the wheel to clear the safety tabs on the fork, you'll be able to remove the front wheel.

4. To remove the wheel, lift the bike off the ground. Since the quick release is open, the front wheel will come out.

5. The rear wheel may not come out because the chain can keep it in place. So, a trick to make it easier is to reach down with your free hand and push the derailleur pulley cage as shown to create slack in the chain. Once you've got slack in the chain you can manipulate the wheel to get it free of the chain and off the bike.

6. As the rear wheel comes off you can shake it to get the chain to come off, too (so you don't have to touch the greasy chain). Once the wheel is off, set the bike down on its left side so that the chain stays on top and can't get dirty on the ground.

7. Now you need to remove the punctured tube. To do that you need to remove one side of the tire. To do this, wiggle the wide, thin end of one of your tire levers under the bead of the tire. Attach the hook of the tire lever to a spoke or hold it in place with your hand.

8. Approximately three inches from the first tire lever insert another tire lever and pry and you'll be able to remove one side of the tire from the rim (you may need a third lever in some cases). You can leap-frog the tire levers and slide them around the rim, too, as ways to get that one side of the tire free from the rim.

9.With the side of the tire off the rim, you can reach into the tire and remove the bad tube. Once the tube is removed, carefully inspect the inside and outside of the tire for the piece of glass, wire, thorn, etc. that caused the puncture and remove it (it may have fallen out already but make sure so you don't get a second flat).

10. Now get out your new tube and inflate it with your pump just barely enough to give it shape and remove any wrinkles. Don't put much air in it, though, or else it will be harder to install the tire.

11. Insert the tube's valve into the hole in the rim and fit the tube back into the tire and up onto the rim all the way around. Make sure the tube isn't twisted or bunched up. If it won't go in nicely check to make sure you don't have too much air in it and let some out if you do until it fits nicely.

12. Double check that the side of the tire already on the rim is still on it all the way around and that the tube is tucked in completely and sitting on top of the rim. To finish tire installation, start at the valve and push the tire on with both hands traveling in opposite directions around the wheel. It will get increasingly tight as you get closer to being done. At that point use the heels of your hands (not your thumbs) to push the tire onto the rim. Letting all the air out of the tube will make getting the last tight spot on easier.

13. With the tire fully installed, inflate it to give the tire shape and inspect the tire to make sure it's seated on the wheel nicely (the tube shouldn't be sticking out anywhere and the tire shouldn't wobble when you spin the wheel). If everything looks good, inflate the tire to the pressure recommended on the side of the tire. If you spot problems with the tire, let the air out, wiggle the tire on the rim or tuck the tube inside the tire better and try again until it's perfect.

14. To reinstall the rear wheel is the opposite of how you took it off. Start by holding the wheel so that the cogs (sprockets) on the rear wheel are on the same side as the chain on the bike. Now you can lift the bike with one hand while you hold the rear wheel with your other hand.

15. You need to manipulate the rear wheel through the loop in the chain so that the chain rests on the smallest cog. This just takes watching what you're doing and coordinating how you hold the wheel and lower the bike. You may need to push on the derailleur as you did in step 5. Also, you may have to wiggle the wheel a bit or jiggle the quick release to get the wheel to slip into the frame fully. Sometimes the quick release lever will get closed when you're fixing the flat. So check and make sure it's open because if it's closed that will make it much harder to get the wheel back into the frame.

16. To finish rear wheel installation, make sure the wheel is fully inserted in the frame and centered in the frame both bottom and top and then close the quick release to secure it. For front wheels, make sure they are fully inserted into the fork and centered and close the quick release to secure them. On most front wheels you'll first have to hold the quick-release lever and tighten the nut on the right side of the quick release to adjust it before it will tighten and secure the wheel when you close it. When it's right, the effort it takes to close the lever will leave a nice impression of it on the palm of your hand.

17. The last step is to close your brake quick release or hook your brake's cable back up for linear-pull brakes. Then you can get back on the road. Good job!

Read Trek's WSD Ride Guide and join the WSD community

To read Trek's super helpful WSD Tips Guide with 19 pages of information and photos, please click the link on the left and it will open in another window as an online magazine.

Note that Trek WSD is also an active, global community where bike-minded women share experiences and tips, give and get inspiration, and connect to ride with other female cyclists. For club and rides near you check out Trek’s Women’s Clubs.

You'll also like the Trek Women Facebook and Twitter communities. They're not just for Trek riders. Whatever you ride, you're welcome to take part.